Intermodal transport of goods was another area looked at by the transportation study. Currently many goods produced by local manufacturing companies have to be loaded onto shipping containers and hauled to Calgary by truck to be placed on the rail. The study examined the question of whether some of that intermodal loading could be done in southeast Alberta, saving local companies money and time. Valentini says while the possibilities are intriguing, CP Rail would have to be convinced the idea has merits.
“You really have to have a lot of volume to make it work,” explains Valentini. “But are there other ways to be able to address this? It’s not just about loading a box. You need a box and a rail chassis and those things are in short supply or already heavily allocated in the rail system now. Currently it has to go to the intermodal port in Calgary to get the containers onto a chassis. The right alignment of things needed to make that possible needs to go on. It’s not the way things seem to be going in the rail industry.”
The most exciting possibility coming out of the report for local governments and industry partners seems to be on the transloading end of things. Transloading refers to the capability of a sector such as agriculture or oil and gas to load product directly onto train cars.
Grain elevators serve this capacity in the local agriculture industry but many local industries have built similar infrastructure adapted to their own product needs. Up until now each company has essentially re-invented the wheel by building up its own working out with the
infrastructure and wor
independent deals w h the o
railway companies to have their products picked up. The transportation study pointed
out that railways are increasingly moving away
from this model of transport in favour of greater bulk movement
from a centralized location.
The report asked the question of whether
e
southwest Alberta should be thinking about buildin
hould b ding a mulultti-i- 41188878•03/31/15
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our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people 49
modal transloading facility somewhere in the region. Companies in various commodity sectors could ship product to the multi-modal site and have commodity-specific infrastructure and their own storage facilities in place on site. The idea is so intriguing that PEP has now commissioned a second independent study to examine feasibility and possible locations for such a facility in southeast Alberta.
“That’s the riddle our friends the consultants are looking into,” confirms Valentini. “What they are asking is, is there common infrastructure that all of these companies would probably not have to invest in and be able to take advantage of if it was co-located in a facility area? There could be more savings if there was a central facility these companies could use. You could get a 100-car train in and these companies could bring their loads there. Savings would come on the operational side of things. The bigger the haul and the quicker out of the cars the more money you are going to save.”
Valentini says the transportation study has been illuminating on various levels for all stakeholders within PEP.
“The report card came back saying things are fine; there is nothing terribly wrong. But there are some opportunities we should be aware of and should be looking at so you are taking advantage of synergies and the like. It’s been an eye-opener for us and the board and it is leading us into future work. It has also been instructive. I think we are responding to local concerns and trying to find a way to solve a puzzle.” ■
Superior Services • Plant construction & maintenance. • Oilfi eld equipment fabrication, repair, and painting. • Structural Steel fabrication, installation, and painting. • Pressure piping fabrication, installation, and painting. • Repair and Alteration of ASME Sec VIII Div 1 Pressure Vessels • Repair and Alteration of ASME Sec I and Sec IV Power and Heating Boilers
• General welding, shearing, punching, and forming of metal. • Custom fabrications. • Sandblasting and painting.
Our Fabrication Plant
Features: • 10 ton overhead lifting capacity. • CNC - 40’ beam drill line, complete with automated in-feed tables. • CNC - universal beam coper, complete with automated in/ out-feed tables. • 30” x 20” metal sawing. • 10 ft. x .500 shearing. • 250” notching table. • 140 ton iron worker w/punch. • GMAW, GTAW, and SMAW welding machines. • CNC Plasma cutting up to 2 1/4”. • 32,000 sq. ft. located on 11 acres. • 26 ft. wall height and 32ft overall height. Mobile equipment includes welding rigs, trailers, forklifts, man lift and crew trucks.
Certifi cations • ISO Certifi ed 9001:2008 • Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) • Alberta Boiler Safety Association (ABSA) • CISC Membership
HRANCO INDUSTRIES LTD. SERVICES VARIOUS INDUSTRIES INCLUDING OIL & GAS, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL FIELDS.
Hranco Industries Ltd. is comprised of a 32,000sq.ft. fabrication facility, 2 fully equipped 80ft paint booths. We provide our staff with a modern, bright and safe atmosphere, fully equipped shop with a 10 ton overhead crane, forklifts up to 28,000lbs and top of the line production equipment.
MIYWASIN CENTRE
517 3rd Street SE
Medicine Hat, AB T1A 0H2 Ph. (403) 526-0756 Fx. (403) 504-4064
For more information visit our website:
http://www.miywasin.ab.ca
41188824•03/31/15
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